Journalist moots new role for Thomas-Asante as Daryl Dike nears West Brom return
Lewis Cox has suggested Brandon Thomas-Asante could be asked to play out wide for West Brom when Daryl Dike returns from his long-term injury.
With the emergence of Josh Maja as the more likely starter in the lone striker position, the return of an out-and-out number nine in Dike could push Thomas-Asante to third-choice in that role.
The Albion forward has played out wide on a number of occasions in his career but has largely played as a centre-forward under Carlos Corberan as he has shouldered the burden of his injured teammates.
Speaking on the Baggies Broadcast podcast [5 December], Cox speculated: “It’ll be interesting to see if we ever see Albion go two up top from the start in games. A Dike and a Maja or a Thomas-Asante and Maja…
“I think with the potential of obviously it being one up front, you expect Maja to feature quite prominently. Once Dike works his way back he’s going to be around it given how he was last season before the injury.
“I think it would be great for Thomas-Asante, to lower the burden on him. He’s been asked to carry a lot. In his time since moving here, he’s been the only available option so often and that’s tough. To have all the expectations on you is tough.
“What will be interesting is whether we see him out wide as has been suggested. You can see it, can’t you? The only thing is Albion do have options in those areas. Thomas-Asante playing out wide is further down the pecking order.”
An interesting option
The possibility of a new role could be what Thomas-Asante needs, not only to kickstart his form which has stalled as of late, but to ensure he remains a fixture in the first team at The Hawthorns.
Dike is expected to return to training around the end of December, although given the extent of his injury he may not be fit to play for months and could be reduced to cameo appearances to gain fitness. It will be interesting to see how well he performs upon his return to the side.
If he the U.S.A. international comes back into the fold and proves he can still perform to the best of his ability after shaking off the inevitable rustiness that comes with this type of injury, he will surely push ahead of BTA in the pecking order.
The issue Thomas-Asante then faces is that in all of the forward positions, Albion are well-stacked talent who can be considered better than the forward whether it be out wide or through the middle.
In other West Brom news, Gary Lineker reacted to what happened at West Brom.